: Amid frosty relations between the two countries, U.S. President Joe Biden arrived in Geneva today to meet his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

The two men shook hands outside the La Grange villa overlooking Lake Geneva, reported AFP saying the meeting between the two world leaders will last for up to five hours.

Biden will meet Putin in person for the first time in a decade. The duo had last met in 2011 when Biden was a Vice President while Putin was a prime minister.

Cyberattacks, election meddling, and rights abuses key issues

As per the reports, cyberattacks, election meddling, and rights abuses will be the main issues on the agenda.

Tensions between the former Cold War rivals soared over hacking allegations and the detention of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had accused DarkSide, a group of Russian-based hackers, of launching a ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline in May.

Colonial Pipeline later confirmed that it paid USD 4.4 million to hackers. 

The war of words between the two countries escalated after Biden called Putin a “killer” and a “worthy adversary.”

Putin responded to Biden’s remark by saying, “It takes one to know one” and challenged the US President to talk to him live on air.

Before going into the summit, Biden stressed that he has the backing of his Western partners.

While the U.S. President called the meeting an essential step to ultimately find “stability and predictability” in relations, Putin told state TV there were “issues where we can work together”.

Not much ground for optimism: Putin’s foreign affairs adviser

Meanwhile, Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, told the press that there was “not much” ground for optimism.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are also present at the summit.

Biden has maintained that his main aim is to establish clear “red lines” for what the White House will no longer tolerate from Moscow.

Biden’s stance on Russia is different compared to his predecessor Donald Trump. 

After the NATO summit in Brussels, the US President said he was not looking for conflict, adding that Washington will respond if Moscow continues its harmful activities.